94 Responses

Another good part of this plan is the proposal to upgrade the greenway through Cox's Bay Park that leads up to Wharf Road – offering a much quieter (and less onerous) way up to Jervois. It includes an upgrade to the little path into the park from the bottom of Nottingham Street, which is all good for my quaxing trips.

only for the whole climb to be thrown away on the descent on the other side

This.

Auckland is hilly, it's a fact of life. But cyclists love routes that reduce wasted effort. Even if it's longer it's usually much more fun to ride around a ridge than go down into a valley and then have to climb straight back out (unless you really love hillclimbing).

And if you are trying to encourage less fit riders then steep hills are the pits.

Also exposed routes may have lovely views but are vulnerable to wind.

I'm glad they are consulting, lets hope folks who don't ride but would like to share their thoughts.

Great that they are consulting so thoroughly. But my heart sinks every time I hear that Ponsonby Road won't even be touched for another three years minimum. It flies in the face of the advice Janette Sadik-Khan gives over and over again...

"Cities have to move quickly with infrastructure. Streets have been the same way for so long that people don’t really understand what’s possible. They’re skeptical you can change it."

Giving Ponsonby Rd and K-Rd cycle lanes would hands down be the biggest game changer for the inner suburbs, everything else would follow...

I bought a bike for myself and my 11 year old daughter the weekend after the #PinkPath was opened. I figured that combined with the Nelson St cycleway I would essentially have a cycleway from my house to my work.

However I haven't really biked to work as much as I had expected, I think largely because of the really annoying hills at the city end of the NW cycleway. Both the Newton onramp hill and then the grind up Ian McKinnon Drive. Both are really frustrating as you immediately drop back down. It would be great for them to be levelled out somehow.

Nope won't load for me either. While it will be great to have a proper path, New Lynn to Waterview isn't actually too bad with the right route. There are on-road cycle lanes on Clark Street (just watch for turning cars..), shared walking/cycling path on left of Wolverton, left onto St George St (wide, just be careful on diagonal rail crossing, or use foot crossing), through main Avondale roundabout (actually not bad, cars generally aren't moving very fast), straight ahead through first part of Avondale, right up Crayford St W past school, left onto Layard St past railway station, right onto Roseback Rd, immediately left onto Roberton, right onto Henry St, left onto Blockhouse Bay road then coast past the traffic queues down to the end of Blockhouse Bay Rd and cross onto the RH footpath on Gt North Rd to head down to Waterview (careful on driveways, high fences are annoying). Same in reverse, Layard is one way so I normally use the footpath after the RSA, and when I come back up the Wolverton path to Portage Rd I normally join the right turning traffic from Portage onto Clark St and use the cycle lane through New Lynn.

I just been looking at the AT cycling maps, and for the life of me I cannot find a route from Manukau to the city that would be safe. Apparently you're allowed to cycle from the west, and soon from the east (well, as long as you not coming from further than the Panmure train station, sorry Pakuranga and Howick), but if you are from the south, NO BIKE FOR YOU.

To get me back into cycling again AT and Council will have to do a heck of a lot more than what they have done so far, and what they have been proposing. Routes going through or past parks, and through various scenic or not so scenic routes through the suburbs may be nice for some to use, especially on leisure rides.

But I expect that we will one day have cycle networks as they have in much of Europe, along major streets and roads, all over the show. Cars need to be replaced, need to be put into more restricted lanes on existing streets and roads, to give way to more dedicated bus lanes, perhaps trams and definitely cycle ways, that go the same way as the streets and roads, forming paths on the right and left of them.

It will have many benefits, health benefits, it will save costs as cars cost a lot to buy and run, and it will get people out in the environment, where they face each other, so they will perhaps start communicating a bit more, face to face, rather than sit in cars and text each other messages.

But to get there, it will be a long, long way, it requires a real culture change, that I sadly cannot see happen yet on a larger scale.

For safety reasons and for convenience I will continue using buses for most my travel within Auckland.

To get me back into cycling again AT and Council will have to do a heck of a lot more than what they have done so far, and what they have been proposing. Routes going through or past parks, and through various scenic or not so scenic routes through the suburbs may be nice for some to use, especially on leisure rides.

Did you actually read the post? That Grey Lynn Park route is gold and having the path upgraded right through will be great. I use it frequently because it's direct and flat and it goes places I want to go.

It also happens to be "nice". Newsflash: cyclists enjoy riding in pleasant places where cars can't go. Having ground-level contact with your local environment is one of the great things about cycling.

I also think the recognition of local journeys is really important. Auckland's big and it's not going to suit everyone to ride to work. But replacing short car journeys? Hell yes.

Can I suggest you do some "leisure riding" to get back in the swing?

But I expect that we will one day have cycle networks as they have in much of Europe, along major streets and roads, all over the show.

Did you look at the map? What AT proposes is that. Exactly how it's executed – and funded – will be the issue. I think there have been some mistakes made in places (people really seem to dislike the Mt Eden side-street routes) but I can't fault the ambition in this plan.

Even if it's longer it's usually much more fun to ride around a ridge than go down into a valley and then have to climb straight back out

You forgot "there must be a stop sign at the bottom of every hill, if necessary a four way stop sign.", which I think is in bold at the top of the NSW cycle route planning guidelines.

I am really pleased to see ongoing psychopath development in Auckland. And I really like riding on (wide) shared paths through parks, it's one of the things that makes my current commute so nice. I ride some back streets, then drop on to a shared path up a creek then through a necropolis before I'm back on proper roads (I cross a busy road) and more than half my total ride is car-free. It makes such a positive difference.

I agree. We need on-street paths that go past shops, cafes and workplaces for things to really turn around. Ponsonby Rd is one of the most dangerous roads to cycle on and currently only the brave attempt it. It’s a shame that nothing is being done, despite the draft plan being done back in 2013…

I think the issue is that AT Walking and Cycling can say what it wants to do on Ponsonby Road, but it's not a job that can be done with walking and cycling funding. But yeah, Ponsonby and Karangahape Roads being sorted out will be a crucial step. Hopefully it's not going to take too long ...